All Topics  
Straits of Mackinac

 
Straits of Mackinac

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Straits of Mackinac
 
 
  Topics Straits of Mackinac Topic Home

The Straits of Mackinac ( , note the silent "c") is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
 and Lake Huron
Lake Huron

Lake Huron, bounded on the west by the U.S. state of Michigan, and on the east by the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario, Canada, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America....
, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Lower Peninsula of Michigan

The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people associate with a mitten, with the mid-eastern region identified as The Thumb....
 from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan....
. It is a shipping lane connecting, for instance, the steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 mills of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana

Gary is the largest city in Lake County, Indiana, Indiana, United States. The city is located in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago....
 to the iron mines of Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Straits of Mackinac'
Start a new discussion about 'Straits of Mackinac'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Dscn4813 Mackinackbridgelookingnorth E
The Straits of Mackinac ( , note the silent "c") is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
 and Lake Huron
Lake Huron

Lake Huron, bounded on the west by the U.S. state of Michigan, and on the east by the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario, Canada, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America....
, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Lower Peninsula of Michigan

The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people associate with a mitten, with the mid-eastern region identified as The Thumb....
 from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan....
. It is a shipping lane connecting, for instance, the steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 mills of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana

Gary is the largest city in Lake County, Indiana, Indiana, United States. The city is located in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago....
 to the iron mines of Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
. Before the railroads reached Chicago from the east, it served as part of the path for immigrants into the Midwest and Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
. It is five miles (8 km) wide at its narrowest point where it is spanned by the Mackinac Bridge
Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge , is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Lower Peninsula of Michigan peninsulas of the U.S....
. Before the bridge was built, car ferries were used to cross the straits. Today passenger-only ferries carry people to Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island is an island covering in land area, belonging to the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Lower Peninsula of Michigan....
 which does not permit cars, while passengers can take a vehicle ferry to Bois Blanc Island
Bois Blanc Island (Michigan)

Bois Blanc Island is coterminous with Bois Blanc Township, Michigan, Mackinac County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The island covers about and is about 12 miles long, 6 miles wide and has 6 lakes....
. Before icebreaker
Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to icebreaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels ....
s and year-round shipping on the Lower Great Lakes, the Straits would freeze over in winter.

Island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
s in the Straits of Mackinac include the two populated islands, Bois Blanc Island
Bois Blanc Island (Michigan)

Bois Blanc Island is coterminous with Bois Blanc Township, Michigan, Mackinac County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The island covers about and is about 12 miles long, 6 miles wide and has 6 lakes....
 and Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island is an island covering in land area, belonging to the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Lower Peninsula of Michigan....
, and the two uninhabited islands, Round Island
Round Island (Michigan)

Round Island is an uninhabited island in Mackinac County, Michigan of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron....
 and St. Helena Island. At 11 miles (18 kilometers) in length, Bois Blanc is by far the largest island in the Straits.

Geology and history

Straitsmackinac Iss010 E 20813
The Straits are wide and deep. Hydrologically, they do not connect two separate lakes, but rather are a narrow point defining two lobes of a single Lake Michigan-Huron
Lake Michigan-Huron

Lake Michigan-Huron is a designation given to the body of water traditionally considered to be two separate lakes: Lake Michigan and Lake Huron....
.

The Straits were an important Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
 and fur trade
Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur....
 route. Located on the southern side of the Straits is the town of Mackinaw City, Michigan
Mackinaw City, Michigan

Mackinaw City is a village in Emmet County, Michigan and Cheboygan County, Michigan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the United States Census, 2000 the population was 859....
, the site of Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac

Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century France, and later Kingdom of Great Britain, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America....
, a reconstructed French fort founded in 1715, and on the northern side is St. Ignace, Michigan
St. Ignace, Michigan

Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 2,678....
, site of a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 Catholic mission to the Indians, founded in 1671. The eastern end of the Straits was controlled by Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac

Fort Mackinac was a military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century on Mackinac Island in the U.S. state of Michigan....
 on Mackinac Island, a British colonial and early American military base and fur trade center, founded in 1781.

Straits of Mackinac today

The Straits are patrolled by a detachment of the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the Military of the United States and one of seven Uniformed services of the United States. In addition to being a military branch at all times, it is unique among the armed forces in that it is also a Admiralty law agency and a Federal government of the United States regulatory agency....
 based at Graham Point, St. Ignace. A shipping channel through the winter ice is maintained by the Coast Guard's Great Lakes icebreaker
Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to icebreaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels ....
, USCGC Mackinaw
USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB-30)

USCGC Mackinaw is a vessel built as a heavy icebreaker for operations on the North American Great Lakes for the United States Coast Guard....
, based in Cheboygan, Michigan
Cheboygan, Michigan

Cheboygan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States Census, 2000, the city population was 5,295. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County, Michigan....
 near the eastern edge of the Straits. This new vessel went into service during the 2005-06 ice season.

Most of the Straits have been set aside by the U.S. state of Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
 as the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve
Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve

The Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve is a 148 mi? Michigan Underwater Preserves in and around the Straits of Mackinac. The preserve is divided in two by the Mackinac Bridge....
, a riparian public space dedicated to those personnel who were lost aboard the boats and ships that sank in these dangerous shipping lanes.

Lighthouse
Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
s in the Straits of Mackinac include:
  • The McGulpin Point Light
    McGulpin Point Light

    McGulpin Point Light was constructed as a navigational aid through the Straits of Mackinac. The light began operation in 1869, making it one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the Straits....
    , on McGulpin Point, west of Fort Michilimackinac.
  • The Old Mackinac Point Light, in Mackinaw City, Michigan, which is open to the public.
  • The Round Island Light
    Round Island Light (Michigan)

    The Round Island Light is a lighthouse located on the east shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron....
     on Round Island, which is not open to the public but which can be viewed from the Mackinac Island ferry channel.
  • The St. Helena Island Lighthouse
    St. Helena Island Lighthouse

    The buildings of the St. Helena Island Light complex are the sole surviving structures on St. Helena Island, in Mackinac County, Michigan in the U.S....
    , which is not open to the public but is visible from a rest area on U.S. Highway 2 at Gros Cap, Michigan west of St. Ignace, Michigan.
  • The Bois Blanc Island Light
    Bois Blanc Light

    Bois Blanc Light can refer to one of five lighthouses erected on Bois Blanc Island , Michigan, in Lake Huron. Two of the lighthouses are currently standing....
    , which is not open to the public, on the northern shore of Bois Blanc.


See also

  • Huron Lightship
    Huron Lightship

    The United States lightship Huron is a lightvessel that was launched in 1920 and now a museum ship moored in Pine Grove Park, Port Huron, Michigan, St....


External links